Opinion: Intergenerational strife: Why can’t we all just get along?

“What is this world coming to?”

This is a question my grandparents ask me weekly. Each generation seems to believe that the generation after them can not possibly do better.

Older generations usually have some criticisms of the younger generation, even though they raised them. Psychologists describe this pattern as a belief in “general decline” and they attribute this to a phenomenon where older people convince themselves that “children are especially deficient on the traits in which they happen to excel.”

Essentially, a generation who collectively prides themselves on their thriftiness is generally inclined to believe that the next generation is incapable of being equally economical.

Despite an age, ideal and lifestyle gap, generations are interdependent. Everything an older generation does or does not do will affect the generation following after them in one way or another.

For example, Gen-X was one of the first generations to generally have both parents working outside of the home. This resulted in them being called “latch-Key” kids because they would come home to an empty house and have to let themselves in.

Their parents taught them the value of providing for their families but they also experienced the negative side effects of working parents first hand. As a result, Gen-Xers generally have flexible schedules. This permits parents to juggle work and home in a way that allows them to be more available and accessible for their children.

As a result, Gen-Xers are referred to as “stealth-fighter parents.” This means that they pick and choose which battles to fight. They do not hover over their children like “helicopter parents” but when they decide to get involved they can be even more protective than “helicopter parents.” 

Their values, beliefs, and actions are a direct result of the way their parents and grandparents raised them. Each generation takes what they like from the last generation while simultaneously trying to improve upon it.

While some of the actions of an older generation may cause the younger generation to take an opposite approach, other values are passed down.

For example, workers of the baby boomer generation would say that they have an unmatched work ethic because of how often and hard they worked. They worked early hours and late into the night, but when they left the office work stopped.

Even though some baby boomers accuse Gen-Xers and millennials of a lax work ethic, workers of the Gen-X and millennial generations would say that their work does not stop at five. It follows them home and on to vacation. They are always getting emails and the work never stops because the 9-5 workday has been abolished.

Gen-Xers and millennials saw the value and good that came from the hard work of the generations before them and decided to keep work ethic as a core value as they moved forward in life. However, they are just working differently. 

It is true that different generations have different values, styles, and opinions but that is a good thing. Viewing intergenerational differences as a weakness rather than strength does nothing but damage relationships.

For better or for worse, every generation affects every other generation in some way. We are meant to not only coexist but also learn from one another. In order to maximize our learning, we have to discard the belief that age equals wisdom and accept that it merely equals experience.

Experience is useful but is not a qualifier for always knowing best.

Once we are able to recognize our differences as strengths, accept the good and leave the bad behind, then we can move forward to a better more educated future.

Addy Kirkham is a senior studying English with an emphasis in literary analysis. She enjoys reading, running, and mountain biking.

addy.kirkham@usu.edu